Connecticut PURA orders Palmco to notify customers on how to switch service

Requires third-party provider to notify customers on how to switch service

Published 7:21 pm, Wednesday, March 9, 2016

NEW BRITAIN >> A Brooklyn, N.Y.-based third party electricity provider is being ordered by state utility regulators to provide the company’s more than 2,500 customers with information on how to switch their service.

PURA officials said Wednesday that many Palmco customers may not have been aware they are enrolled with the company or the high rates they are being charged. As recently as January, a majority of Palmco customers were paying twice the amount of the standard service offers from The United Illuminating Co. or Eversource Energy.

The PURA order requires Palmco to contact its customers via first class mail or electronic mail no later than March 25.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen called Palmco’s business practices “deceptive and unfair.”

“The conduct detailed in this proceeding is deeply troubling,” Jepsen said in a written statement. “The evidence in the record shows systemic and pervasive misconduct in Palmco’s marketing its product and enrolling its customers. It has also led to substantial overpayments for thousands of Connecticut consumers.”

Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz said representatives appear to have used high-pressure tactics to convince prospective customers to enroll with Palmco.

“Such underhanded sales practices have no place in the Connecticut retail electric marketplace,” Katz said.

PURA’s investigation showed alleged evidence that consumers:

• May not have been informed of Palmco’s rates at the time of enrollment.

• May have been provided inaccurate information during door-to-door and telemarketing sales.

• May have been led to believe that enrolling with Palmco would guarantee savings.

• May have been led to believe they were dealing with Eversource or United Illuminating personnel.

• May have been enrolled due to forgery.

Officials with Palmco said in a statement released Thursday they were “surprised and disappointed” in Wednesday’s ruling.

“The Connecticut Attorney General and Consumer Counsel (OCC) are seeking to take credit for an action that was offered by Palmco nearly four months ago,” the statement said in part. Palmco voluntarily offered to do exactly what PURA has now ordered. To its knowledge, all of Palmco’s service offerings were lawful and condoned by the Connecticut State Legislature.”

PURA has scheduled additional hearings in this case for March 15 and 16. A final decision is expected in June 2016.